The Integrated Care Collaboration (ICC), a public-private organization of regional health care providers and partners, has over the past year developed a shared vision of ways to improve health care services for the uninsured in Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties. Building on the capabilities of individual safety-net providers and the collective strength of its membership, the ICC is leading efforts to reorganize regional health care, expand successful programs, pilot new programs that expand outreach and access to services, and explore long-term financing options.

The ICC has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish and Internet-based regional information systems to coordinate health care services. This opportunity plus the ICC's work this past year sets the stage for evolving a regional infrastructure to coordinate planning, public awareness, and program administration.

Specific recommendations for projects to be managed and coordinated by the ICC include:

• Lead efforts to maximize efficiencies of regional service delivery through establishing the ICC-CENTEX.NET information system, enhancing coordination of care providers and developing additional financial resources to support the ICC.
• Strengthen existing successful programs and pilot the impact of increased delivery efficiency through expanding enrollment in public health plans, enrolling individuals up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level into a new health plan, and providing behavioral health care.
• Explore new insurance options that combine large and small businesses, that expand the specialty care provider network, and that explore the viability of a health care taxing district.

All three of the above recommendations will require public education and collaborative planning.

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Adult Mental Health

• Increase access to and coordination of quality adult mental healthcare services: Identify capacity and need of the public and private mental health system in Travis County to identify specific needs and costs. Utilize the Adult Mental Health Partnership to plan and coordinate a comprehensive plan to increase access and coordination of quality services.
  • Address the need for funding a full range of services including medication (Children's and Adult Mental Health).
• Increase the availability of safe and affordable housing and supports: Develop new opportunities to meet the needs of adults with mental disorders that choose to live independently but cannot afford housing and/or need supports.
• Increase the opportunity for employment through training and support programs or services: Collaborate with existing vocational rehabilitation and supported employment organizations in the community to identify specific strategies to educate, train, and support consumers to find and maintain employment. Also, educate, train, and support potential and existing employers to understand the benefits and available workforce that can be provided by adults with mental disorders.

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Children's Mental Health

• Increase the availability, service options and accessibility of children's mental health services to families regardless of ability to pay. Eliminate categorical funding constraints to enable flexible purchase of services that address family needs while meeting funding agency mandates. Examine eligibility and financial requirements for services and determine integrated approach for addressing community need. Advocate for parity for coverage of a wide range of mental health service options on managed care plans. Train providers about service options for families requiring referral assistance.
• Increase the number of mental health providers available to families within their own neighborhoods, communities, or schools. Services should be available at times that are convenient to the family and child in order to reduce the risk of loss of work productivity due to parental absence from employers and to increase the amount of time children and parents can meet with service providers. Enable funders of services to give priority funding or incentives to mental health providers who offer families flexible times and convenient locations for the delivery of mental health services.
  • Demonstrate Youth and Family Assessment Center best practice approach.
• Conduct community assessment of current numbers of children on waiting lists. Develop a plan for diverting families to other agencies that may not have a waiting list. Determine which managed care plans require expansion of providers to enable faster access to mental health care. Work with managed care companies to expand their provider network.

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